Shloka 16

Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava

Devanagari script

विकीर्णै: कवचैश्षित्रै: शिरस्त्राणैश्न मारिष । शुशुभे तद्‌ रणस्थानं शरदीव नभस्तलम्‌,माननीय महाराज! इधर-उधर बिखरे हुए विचित्र कवचों तथा शिरस्त्राणों (लोहेके टोपों)-से वह रणभूमि शरद-ऋतुमें तारिकाओंसे विभूषित आकाशकी भाँति शोभा पाने लगी

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | vikīrṇaiḥ kavacaiś citraiḥ śirastrāṇaiś ca māriṣa | śuśubhe tad raṇasthānaṃ śaradīva nabhastalam ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: О почтенный, то поле брани, повсюду усыпанное пёстрыми доспехами и шлемами, сияло, словно осеннее небо, украшенное звёздами.

Word by Word

विकीर्णैःscattered

कवचैःwith armours

चित्रैःvariegated/strange

शिरस्त्राणैःwith helmets (head-protectors)

नindeed/now (particle)

मारिषO noble sir

शुशुभेshone/was splendid

तत्that

रणस्थानम्battlefield (place of battle)

शरदिin autumn

इवlike/as

नभस्तलम्sky-surface, the expanse of the sky

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

battlefield (raṇasthāna)

armour (kavaca)

helmets (śirastrāṇa)

autumn sky (śarad-nabhas)

stars (implied by the simile)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse offers a moral contrast: war can appear outwardly magnificent, yet that beauty is built from the remnants of harm—discarded armour and helmets. It invites reflection on the cost of conflict and the impermanence of bodily protection amid fate and violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the battlefield after intense fighting. Armour and helmets lie scattered everywhere, and the field gleams in a way compared to the star-filled autumn sky.